Fixing Helga
by 8cakes
Summary: Helga's life seemed to be turning around for the better, until one fateful day when a huge tragedy was stricken. After that, everything seemed to go downhill from there for the Pataki household. Helga is now beginning to build up completely different walls than before. Will a certain someone be able to fix her before it's too late? (AxH)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Arnold! belongs to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon. I own none of these characters.**

 **(A/N: Heeeey! Guess who's back, back again? And with a new (probably better) story! Tbh I'm not sure if I'll continue The Magic Show because I tried redoing it all together but I feel like what it's about to turn into has been done to death already. Even though I fucking loooove Hey Arnold fanfics like those I felt like I would need more of a heavier plot to make it really stand out, you feel me? XD So yeah dark fics are my thing especially for Hey Arnold; because Arnold is just so sweet and to see Helga uncanon-ly open up to him in so many different ways (you guys have no idea how much fan fiction I read) makes my heart just absolutely melt! Also I have never been so excited for a movie EVER in my life, TJM is just 2 weeks away I'm fucking screaming. I didn't even grow up with this show and I am obsessed with it. _OBSESSED._ So now I'm gonna stop rambling and just start the fanfic. Wish me luck.. *nervous lol*)**

* * *

Helga awoke to the sound of her alarm clock. Irritated, she slammed her fist on the 'snooze' button, and dragged herself off her suddenly very comfortable bed. She trudged over to the bathroom to start her daily morning routine. While doing so, she figured she would have heard Bob or Miriam or even the TV downstairs, but the house seemed completely silent expect for the running sink Helga was currently using. After brushing her teeth, she started to brush her blonde, wavy hair, contemplating if she should put it up or leave it down. It takes her a lot longer to get ready for school now than back when she was in elementary; she was in the 8th grade now, and everyone knows kids become extra mean and judge-y in junior high. So she learned how to keep herself looking cleaned up, but not like a try-hard like that one time in 4th grade when she invited herself over to Rhonda's sleep-over party looking like a smoker mom. She mentally cringes every time she suddenly remembers the stupid memory. Let's just say she did a lot of things she wasn't proud of in the 4th grade, don't even get her started. Going back into her room, Helga rummaged through her closet to find something to wear. Once she found an outfit that would satisfy her for the day, she quickly threw it on and went back into the bathroom to grab her iconic pink bow. With the bow, she tied her hair up in a messy high ponytail, then added mascara and non-colored lip gloss. Looking back at herself in the mirror, she felt confident that she had gotten herself to look decent in the amount of time she took.

After heading downstairs, Helga walked into the kitchen where her mother was to grab her hopefully packed lunch bag.

"Mornin' Miriam, did Bob already leave for wo-"

Not to her surprise, her mother was passed out on the dining table with a spilled cup of wine in her hands. Helga could tell she'd been in that position for hours, due to the spilt wine stain being all dried up on the tablecloth. She sighed and grabbed her lunch bag which actually seemed kinda heavy, this got her a little excited. Will she actually get something to eat other than oxygen today? She walked out of the kitchen, grabbed her book bag, and headed out the front door on her way to school.

* * *

Helga was about to turn a corner on the sidewalk, but whenever she went this way she would literally bump into Arnold, and she just didn't feel like dealing with that right now. So she stood behind the corner for a few seconds, just waiting for Arnold to run up and turn the corner any moment, but alas, nothing happened. She sighed a little in relief and a little in disappointment, and she finally decided to turn the corner.

"Abner!" Helga heard someone shout.

Bad timing. Once turning the corner, she was almost knocked to the ground by a pink, squealing flash.

"Crimin- ah!" Helga started, but was immediately knocked onto the ground caused by Arnold, landing hard on her bum, "oww.."

"Sorry, Helga! Are you okay?" Of course she knew turning the corner without bumping roughly into Arnold was too good to be true. Arnold stuck out his hand, offering Helga help back up on her feet. She accepted his hand and practically jumped back up, quickly letting go of his hand.

"Ever thought of a _leash_ for that pig of yours, Arnoldo?" Helga said in a snarky tone while dusting off her bottom.

"Well, yeah," Arnold replied, "but then this happened.." He revealed a bright red leash, chewed up and in half.

Helga's eyes widened, "dang.. He must have steak knives for teeth or something," she crossed her arms, "I feel pretty sorry for the person who angers your pig, football-head."

Arnold chuckled, "yeah, but Abner doesn't bite _people,_ he's nice."

"Oh yeah?" Helga smirked, "you just wait until the day he finally snaps and goes on a human-biting-spree!" She suddenly gasped.

"What?" asked Arnold.

"Oh no," Helga put her palm to her mouth, muffling her 'no'.

"What?" Arnold asked again, this time in a more panicky tone.

"Do you realize what you have just done, Arnold?"

"N-no.."

"You have just let a _rouge pig_ out on the streets to roam!" She grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him, "you've already killed hundreds with your pink killing machine!"

Arnold laughed and lightly shoved her off him, "Helga! He's just a pig, he can't do anything."

"That's what he _wants_ us to think.. I smell evil bacon!"

"Whatever you say, Helga."

Helga chuckled to herself, "ah yeah, good stuff. But seriously Arnold, go get your pig."

Arnold's eyes widened, "Oh right.. ABNER!" He ran past her and she smiled watching him go.

After a few moments of just staring with a love-sick gaze she quickly realized where she needed to be and darted towards the school.

 _"Welp, guess Hair Boy's gonna be late."_ She thought and snickered as she headed to her first class of the day.

Helga and Arnold's relationship had changed drastically at the beginning of 7th grade. Helga finally decided that being rude to everyone just wasn't good for her image anymore, and even her health. She realized as times had changed, bullies are now more likely to get hurt than those who don't bully, because in the end, the bully always gets stood up to, leaving their confidence completely drained and their emotions completely empty. So Helga kinda just turned into the girl with a sarcastic humor. Helga was also suddenly reminded of all the times she acted nice to people when Arnold was around, and he always told her he'd wish she would be nicer all the time and after this realization, Helga knew exactly what she had to do. And it worked perfectly, Helga and Arnold have considered themselves friends for about a year now, and that's one giant step closer than she would ever get to if she was still as mean as she was back in the 4th grade.

* * *

 **(A/N: I hope I ended the first chapter at a decent place! I'm so tired it's like 4 am rn so I had to stop writing. Anyways, I have high hopes for this story! Stay tuned!)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Arnold! belongs to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon. I own none of these characters.**

Helga's first few classes seemed to fly by; before she knew it, she was at lunch sitting with Phoebe, Gerald, and Arnold (who was late for first hour). She was the only one at the table who brought lunch (if you can even call it that) everyday. She would love to buy lunch like the rest of her friends, but her parents didn't want to waste their money on "gross cafeteria food", so that's that. Helga looked at everyone else's lunch tray that was filled with food, and crossed her fingers hoping today would be the day she got something similar. Her hopes were already a little bit more high today, since she felt her lunch bag being quite heavy. Helga held her breath as she stuck her hand in the brown bag, and when getting a grip on something, she pulled it out. Her face fell instantly as she set the bar of soap down on the table next to her bag. Her friends looked at the bar of soap in concern, but Helga was too busy grabbing the next thing out of her bag to notice. She then pulled out an egg and a bottle of meds and sighed as she set them down on the table with the bar of soap. As her friends seemed to notice her gloomy expression about her lunch, she quickly made a poker face to make them stop looking at her the way they were. Now trying to lighten the mood, Helga took the egg and examined it.

"Miriam seems to be getting warmer every day. At least it's edible; although I would have preferred the egg _out_ of the shell and not..well...raw," Helga nervously chuckled. Her friends were still giving her the same look. "Criminy guys, stop looking at me like I'm some sort of cancer patient," she put her 'lunch' back into the paper bag, "I wasn't really hungry today anyways.." She crossed her arms and looked away from everyone else, embarrassed with all the pity she was receiving.

She then noticed Arnold suddenly searching his pocket. He pulled out a few dollar bills and started to count them. "Arnold.." Helga said in a defeated tone, her arms uncrossing. She watched him slide two 5 dollar bills across the table to reach her, making that $10.

"Go buy yourself some lunch, Helga," Arnold smiled at her.

Helga gingerly took the money, "I can't pay you back," she sighed.

"No need to," he replied with the same smile on his face.

Helga's heart nearly skipped a beat, "gee..uh, thanks Arnold," she slowly got up from the table and walked toward the lunch line.

* * *

Arnold watched her walk to the lunch line with a half lidded gaze, that smile was still present, until Gerald snapped him out of his thoughts.

"You gave her _ten dollars?!_ " Arnold turned to look at Gerald.

"Yeah, I did. Why?"

"Lunch costs two-fifty," Gerald replied bluntly, crossing his arms, "we could've gone to the arcade or somethin' with that money!"

"Come on, Gerald, I still have a few dollars left. Anyway, she could probably use the extra cash."

"Might I say, Arnold," Phoebe joined in on the discussion, "that was very generous of you to give Helga $10 for lunch."

"Mmhm, _very generous_ ," Gerald smirked.

Arnold slightly blushed and was about to retort, but Helga came back from the lunch line and sat at the table with a tray of actual food.

"You want the change?" Helga asked Arnold holding $7.50 in her palm.

"No, you can keep it," Arnold replied. He looked over at Gerald who was wiggling his eyebrows at him. "Gerald!" Arnold whispered harshly, "it's not like that!"

Gerald shrugged, "whatever you say, Arnold.."

* * *

Once the bell rung, signaling that lunch was over, everyone left the cafeteria except for Helga. She looked around to make sure no one else was there, and when she figured the coast was clear, she practically ripped her locket out of her top. It was one of the only things she decided to keep that was Arnold-related, except for her journal full of poems and such other writings about him.

 _"Oh, Arnold! Not only did you pay for my lunch, but you gave me more money than all my allowances combined! You truly are selfless and affectionate, even when it comes to me! I love you Arnold, and some day I'll let the whole wide world know! When we get married I'll finally be able to tell everyone I'm Mrs... Arnold's wife!"_

Helga wasn't sure if she was thinking this while caressing her locket, or saying it out loud, but she didn't care until she heard very heavy breathing behind her. She put the locket back in her top as her eyes narrowed. She swiftly threw her fist up, knocking out the loud breather behind her. Hey, just because she's now nicer to others, still didn't mean she stopped socking Brainy any time she had the chance.

* * *

After her last class, Helga was heading to the front door to get home, but was stopped when she heard someone call her name. Turning around, she saw Arnold catching up to her.

"Hey," he greeted her once he caught up.

"What's up football-face?"

"Ah, nothing. I was just wondering if I...could walk you home?" He sheepishly smiled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"...What for?" Helga was internally fan-girling.

"I dunno, uh.. Gerald had to go do a thing with Phoebe, so I-"

"Ohhh a _thing_ , huh?" Helga giggled, "I always knew those goofballs were made for each other."

"Hehe, yeah," Arnold nervously laughed, "so.. What do you say?"

"I say... Whatever floats your boat."

Arnold smiled and quickly headed for the front door to open it for her.

"Why thank you, kind sir," Helga said in a sing-song voice as she walked through the door.

"Pleasure's all mine, m'lady," Arnold replied with a small bow, causing Helga to snicker.

The first half of the walk home was relitively quiet, but they enjoyed each other's company. Even though she didn't mind the silence, Helga finally decided to say something.

"Hey, Arnold?" Arnold turned to her, signaling that she got his attention. She continued, "th-thanks again for..buying me lunch...and for the extra seven-fifty.."

"It's no problem, Helga," he put his hand on her shoulder, "you deserve it."

Helga blushed slightly, and brushed his hand off her shoulder (even though she wanted it to stay where it was forever), "c-come on football-head, let's not get all mushy."

Arnold put his hands in his pockets and made another sheepish smile, "you're right, Helga. My bad."

After a few moments of just chatting, they finally reached the stoop of Helga's house.

"Welp, see ya tomorrow, hair-boy," Helga said as she walked up her stoop and opened the unlocked front door.

"Bye Helga, it was nice walking you home," Arnold waved goodbye. Helga smiled at his statement and waved goodbye back, then shut the door. She turned around, leaning against the door and sliding down it, swooning.

* * *

 **(A/N: I feel like so much happened in this chapter but it's only 1,000 words long! Wtf this took me like 4 hours to write. I really don't know how some people can make fanfics longer than the bill of rights or whatever. Anyways I hope u all r enjoying the story so far! Please leave your reviews because I love hearing from all of you! Stay tuned!)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Arnold! belongs to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon. I own none of these characters.**

* * *

Helga stood back up off the floor after the fuzzy feeling inside of her had died down. She was on her way to her room to write a little in her journal, but stopped when she noticed Miriam in the exact same position she was in seven hours ago. Her face still buried under her arm, and her grip hadn't left the spilt cup of wine.

Miriam seemed to have gotten worse over the years with her constant drinking. After she had gotten fired working in some office job when Helga was in the 6th grade and couldn't seem to find another job, Miriam had stopped hiding the fact she was drinking alcohol, which meant she stopped using her 'smoothies' code word and just straight up said 'wine' or anything else that contained alcohol in the house. Helga remembered trying anything she could that year to get her to cheer up, such as write her a nice letter, attempted to make breakfast every morning for her for a week, and even told her that she would eventually find another job. As expected, none of these things worked; Miriam was never sober enough to understand what was going on anymore, so Helga had just stopped trying to help her. She sighed as she got closer to her seemingly passed out mother.

 _"Jeez, Miriam is out cold,"_ Helga thought as she grabbed her hand with the wine glass, deciding she would put the glass in the sink. Once she felt the touch of her mom's hand, she jolted backwards, dropping the hand back on the table with a harsh thud. _"What the hell? She is cold! Why is she so cold?!"_ Helga inhaled sharply, and quickly took her mom's head, pulling it up to face her. Her glasses became crooked on her face and her hair was a mess in the front, but what was worse was that she looked as pale as a ghost. "M-Miriam..? A-ahh.." Helga's voice became shaky as she made a quiet somewhat scream, not trying to panic. She dropped her head back on the table which made a big thump, but that didn't wake her up. Helga finally decided to push back the hair covering her mom's neck to feel a pulse. Her eyes started to water as she was frantically searching, but she just couldn't find it.

Helga made a loud grunt in frustration and tried to block out the sadness with anger, but the tears were still threatening to fall out. She made a dash to the house phone and quickly dialed 911.

Someone immediately picked up, "911, what's your emergency?" They asked in a calm tone.

"I can't feel a pulse on my mom!"

* * *

Walking back to his place, Arnold had a smile on his face as he recaptured the memory of he and Helga's trip to her house. She had really changed for the better, and he was really glad he could finally call her his friend after so many years of bullying. He remembered the first day of junior high, he and Helga didn't even see each other all summer, and when they realized they had 4 out of 6 classes together, the first thing Helga said to Arnold was how she was sorry for everything mean she had ever done to him, and asked to start over. Arnold remembered being utterly dumbfounded, he didn't believe what he was hearing. She looked a lot different too, she stopped wearing her hair in high pigtails and started wearing different clothes and makeup. He reminded her a lot of that one girl in his dream where he visited his weird cousin, Arnie in the 4th grade named Hilda. Except Helga was still her sarcastic self, just toned down several notches, and Arnold liked that about her...he liked it a lot.

He was snapped out of his daydream by sudden and loud sirens. He looked over at the street and watched an ambulance zoom by in the opposite direction he was walking, along with a news station truck. He was about to shrug off what had just happened, until he saw both the ambulance and news station truck turn down the lane which could lead to Helga's house. His eyes slightly widened, but he quickly shook his head after a few moments, _"what could have possibly happened to Helga that she would already need an ambulance for? I only left about fifteen minutes ago! Just keep walking, and stop being paranoid. What you just saw has nothing to do with Helga.."_ After just standing on the sidewalk, mentally arguing with himself for what felt like a few minutes, he finally decided to just turn around and continue his walk back to the boarding house. He only took a few steps forward...before turning around and sprinting back towards Helga's house. _"I'm just gonna quickly make sure she's okay,"_ he thought the valid excuse, _"I haven't walked that far back.."_

* * *

Bob Pataki had his feet up on his desk as he was napping with his beeper crown on top of his head. When the phone suddenly rang, he almost fell off the chair and his crown fell off his head. Bob grumbled angrily to himself about the sudden wake up call, and grabbed the phone with force, putting it up to his ear.

"Big Bob's Beepers, what do you want?" He asked in an irritated tone.

"Is this Robert Pataki, husband of Miriam Pataki and father of Olga and Helga Pataki?" The voice on the other line asked.

" _Bob_ Pataki," Bob corrected angrily. Even though Robert _was_ his name, only certain people were allowed to call him that, and those certain people did not include _this_ person, "yes, that's my family, what're you on about?"

"We just received a 911 call from your daughter Helga-"

"Did that girl make a prank phone call?" Bob interrupted, almost shouting, "I swear if I'm gonna have to pay a fine or something I'm gonna-"

"No, Mr. Pataki, please let me finish," hearing nothing on the other line, they continued, "we highly suggest you come home from work right now. Your daughter, Helga, called 911 saying she couldn't feel a pulse on your wife, Miriam. Right now we're pretty sure she's been alcohol poisoned, she'll be taken to the hospital to be confirmed alive or dead," there was silence on the other end for a few seconds, until Bob finally absorbed all the information he had just received.

"... **What the fu-** " the line cut due to Bob hanging up the phone, and he sped walked to reach his car.

* * *

As Arnold slowed down his pace going towards Helga's, he mentally scolded himself for being so paranoid, but he couldn't turn around because he was already almost there. When he had gotten a few blocks further, he realized the noises of people and beeping were getting louder. He was a little confused at this, so he decided to go slightly faster once again. Once finally turning a corner that would reveal Helga's house, the noises were louder than ever, and he denied they were for her house but for one of her next-door neighbors, until he got a closer look.

His eyes widened and his heart sunk. He had been right all along, this was one of the only things he wished he could never be right about. He sprinted towards the house, seeing news reporters left and right as he watched a bag on a stretcher be pulled into the ambulance. That had to be a body bag.. "No no no.." Arnold muttered to himself as he ran to find someone, _"what could have possibly happened?!"_

"Someone!" He shouted running around and even shoving a news reporter who was live out of the way, "anyone! Hello?!" He noticed some of the neighbors looking very concerned at the stretcher and talking amongst each other with a panicked tone. "E-excuse me!" The neighbors were startled by the boy's very anxious demeanor, but they made sure he had their attention. "What's going on?! What happened?!"

"The little girl that lives in that house called 911 because she couldn't feel a pulse on her mother, from what I heard," answered a woman, probably in her mid 40s. Arnold sighed; he definitely did not want to say he was relieved, because he wasn't, but he was glad it wasn't Helga in that body bag.

"Th-thank you.." Arnold walked off toward the ambulance and watched it drive away, presumably to the hospital. He hung his head low with his hands in his pockets as he started walking back home, _"this is terrible.."_ was all he could think.

* * *

Just as everything seemed to be dying down, a loud slam from a car door occurred, and big Bob Pataki emerged and got right into a paramedic's face, who didn't join the ambulance.

"Where's my wife?" He sneered as he grabbed his shirt collar.

"Miriam Pataki is already on her way to the hospital along with your daughter; now please let go of my shirt, sir." He said as he narrowed his eyes at him. Bob let go of his collar by shoving him backward. He dusted his shirt angrily and continued, "your other daughter has already been contacted, and is now on a flight here. If you would like, we could give you a ride to the hospital if you're in too much of a shock to drive yourself."

"Olga's on a flight? I thought you said she joined the ambulance," Bob said, confused.

The paramedic gave a confused look as well, "n-no..your _other_ daughter.. The one who called the police?"

Bob stared for a few moments, until he realized who he was talking about, "ohhh, the girl. Okay good, so Miriam's gonna be fine right?"

He sighed nervously, "we're not sure yet sir, we'll be contacting you about her current health if you don't want to go to the hospital right now-"

"What? Of course she'll be fine, she's a Pataki! I'm going to the hospital right now to see her alive and well to prove it!" He marched to his car, slammed the door shut, and drove to the direction of the hospital.

The paramedic shook his head as he watched him go, wondering what could've happened to him if he told Bob the truth...


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Arnold! belongs to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon. I own none of these characters.**

* * *

Helga had been in the waiting room for several minutes now, just staring at the floor, eyes wide and full of tears that weren't spilling out. She couldn't seem to think about anything. Her mind was completely blank, like she was blocking out what was happening right now.

The woman at the front desk was looking at Helga with concern, because she knew why she was here, and she knew about the condition of Miriam Pataki. That just made her feel worse about the way she was looking at the white tiled floor. She wanted to go over to her, she wanted to say something that would help her out of her depressing-to-look-at trance, but what would she say to cheer her up if she already knew the fate of her mother? The woman only sighed, and continued on with her own business.

Helga heard the sound of the news channel jingle on the TV above, and dared to look at the current trending story.

 _"I'm here at the Pataki household with some breaking news. Bob Pataki, proud owner of Big Bob's Beepers' wife, Miriam Pataki, is currently being taken to a local hospital for being found without a pulse in her own home. It has been yet to confirm what the cause of this tragic event was and the Pataki household has refused any and all interviews. Stay tuned on Hillwood News Channel 8 for more information about this case."_

Helga's eyes fell back to the floor; she figured someday something like this would happen if Miriam kept drinking, but for it to happen so soon and so sudden, she just felt like she should have done an extra something to help her out, a part of her felt like it was her fault this had happened.

She leaned back in her chair and sighed while crossing her arms. She was already done crying, she felt like she should be more sad about this, but Helga barely remembered the few times they actually got to bond, and mostly remembers all the empty lunch bags or the lunch bags with miscellaneous objects inside, and her being passed out on the kitchen table, wasted. But all in all, Miriam was still Helga's mother, she gave her life, and she was of course still devastated she might never see her again. Helga's thoughts started to scramble together all the moments she and her mother had shared, both good and bad, but the more the good memories came in, the more she realized she wasn't done crying after all.

Before Helga's thoughts could go more haywire, the hospital doors slammed open, and in came Bob Pataki. He walked up to the front desk and asked for Miriam Pataki, to receive the answer that no one except doctors are allowed in her room at this moment.

"This is an outrage, she's _my_ wife," he muttered to no one in particular, as he headed to sit down next to Helga.

* * *

They did not speak one word to each other for the 2 hours they spent together in silence. Helga felt like Bob was glaring at her whenever he looked over at her. That made her feel uneasy; she didn't really do anything wrong, unless calling 911 was apparently bad, or maybe he didn't know himself he was glaring, maybe he's lost in his own little world like she was before he had arrived.

Suddenly, a doctor appeared from the hallway, and once reaching both Bob and Helga, he introduced himself as Dr. Jones.

"I assume you both are family members of Miriam Pataki?" He asked them.

"Yes," Bob answered, "when am I allowed to see her? I've been waiting for what felt like forever, and I hate waiting."

Dr. Jones pursed his lips together for a moment, then replied, "Miriam Pataki had 1.4 blood alcohol content in her blood, which is..more alcohol than a woman or a man could handle in their system.. We had our entire medical staff working on her, trying everything we could, but ever since the past few hours we had her here, she has been confirmed dead." He watched both of them, awaiting a response from either of them, but they both were just..staring. He cleared his throat, "We'll be contacting your oldest daughter with the update. If either of you have any questions, just ask for me. I'm so sorry for your loss." And with that, he was gone.

Bob was speechless. He actually seemed frozen. He couldn't move, not his arms, his legs, not even his eyes. His emotions were completely blank as well, in a way, he felt numb. Should he be sad? Should he be angry? Why and how could this have happened to such a (in his eyes) perfect family? He put his hands in his face, bent over like he was about to start crying. He actually thought he was going to cry himself, until his body seemed to have a mind of its own. He quickly shot up out of his seat and marched out the hospital. Helga didn't dare to follow him.

* * *

Arnold arrived at the boarding house with a sad and solemn look on his face. He was greeted by his grandpa as he came through the front door.

"Heya, Shortman! You're here later than usual."

Arnold sighed, "yeah, I walked a friend home."

Grandpa Phil noticed the troubled look on his grandson's face and frowned at him, "What's wrong Arnold? You look like Abner when no one shares their food with him."

"Well.. It.." Arnold trailed off and looked to the floor, avoiding eye contact.

"...Is it about this friend you walked home? You get into a fight?"

"Y-yes _and_ no.."

"Oh wait, lemme guess. It's your little friend with the pink hair bow.. Pataki's daughter!"

"Helga, right.." Arnold was about to head for the staircase until his grandpa knelt to his level and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you having girl problems, Arnold?"

Arnold jolted backwards, "No! Listen grandpa, I'm really tired. I'll tell you what happened in the morning, okay?"

He was already halfway up the stairs when his grandpa replied, "Alright Shortman, you can take all the time you need. Good night!"

* * *

When Bob told Helga it was time to go back home from the hospital, Helga sat in the back seat of the car. She was afraid of her dad this very moment, she didn't know what he was thinking because of his emotionless face. He could possibly snap any second, and Helga was not taking any chances. She suddenly heard him sniffle, and saw that he was trying to fight back tears.

"Y'know, never in a million years would I think something like this would happen to a Pataki.. And out of all the Patakis in existence, it had to be Miriam!" Helga wasn't sure if he was talking to her or to himself, but either way she had no time to reply when he swerved the car out of the lane they weren't supposed to be in in the nick of time. "God dammit!" He yelled while forcefully rubbing his eyes with his forearm. For the rest of the car ride, Helga held on to the car's safety handle.

Once they arrived home, Olga was already inside waiting for them. She ran to her father and sister with open arms, making the highest pitched noise that could make dogs go def.

"Oooohhh daddyyyy, baby sisterrrr! How..how could this have h-happened to mu-mu-mummyyyyyyyy! I di- I didn't even get to sa-aayy...goodbyeeeee!" She was hugging them both very tightly, and her mascara was running down her cheeks.

"None of us got to say goodbye, Olga," Bob replied, hugging her back, "it was so sudden, I wasn't even aware she drank so much to kill herself.."

Helga stepped out of the hug, feeling very irritated. He _had_ to have known she was a drunk ever since Helga was born, it couldn't be more obvious! With his constant nagging and yelling, as well as not being able to find a job to keep herself busy, it was no wonder she drank the days away. She was aware since age 5, he couldn't have been so oblivious to this type of thing as a grown man. Why was he lying? Helga quietly huffed and headed up to her room without either of them noticing, they were too busy now discussing her mother's funeral...

* * *

 **(A/N: Ah! Thank god I got this chapter over with! Tbh this was not very fun to write, I had to research all this doctor shit about alcohol poisoning and I don't even know if it's correct. Also I wanted to do the doctor scene so right that I literally googled "how to tell someone their loved one is dead". So at least give me extra credit for effort XD. I really have no idea how any of this stuff works, I just wanted to write a** **fan fiction about it ;( Also I just realized Helga didn't say one word in this chapter...dont panic please eve- everyon- eVERYONE STOP PANICKING. JEEZ. She'll probably have lines in the next chapter^.^ I'm actually not sure I don't have this shit planned out I'm not a prepared responsible adult with a suitcase smh. Ugh sorry for this short chapter but I just put words on the screen and somehow there isn't a lot because I don't know what else to fucking saaayyyy. Okay now I'm rambling so I'm ending my dumbass note lol k bye. Oh and don't forget to stay tuned for the next chapter!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey Arnold! belongs to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon. I own none of these characters.**

* * *

 **"Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold!"**

Arnold awoke in his bed around the time he had to get ready for school. He must have forgotten to change his alarm to a later time last night, since today was Saturday. Arnold sighed as he pressed the snooze button on his alarm clock; he was already awake now, so he decided he might as well just get up for the day and have some breakfast.

Arnold trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen to meet his grandpa at the table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Morning, grandpa," said Arnold as he sat in the chair across from him.

Grandpa Phil set down his newspaper, "Oh, good morning, Arnold. You're the first person up besides me."

"I forgot to set my alarm to later last night."

"Well lucky for you, you're the first to have breakfast!" Grandpa Phil brought out a plate with eggs and toast from who-knows-where, and set it on the table in front of Arnold, "you sure did seem pretty pooped when you came home yesterday, Shortman."

Arnold had almost forgotten about the horrific event that occurred yesterday. Just imagining Helga finding her mom...well... _dead..._ in her own house is just... He didn't have words to describe how awful that kind of situation would be to witness. But he had to wonder; how was Helga holding up right now? Is she okay? How is her family reacting? There was so many questions he had in his head without any answers..

Arnold looked at his food as he replied, "yeah, um...grandpa, about yesterday..."

"No need to explain, Arnold," Grandpa Phil cut him off, "just as you went upstairs to your room, the story about Pataki's wife was all over the news."

Arnold looked up at his grandpa sitting across the table, "not just Mr. Pataki's wife, _Helga's mom,"_ His eyes went right back to his untouched food, as he started to talk quite slowly, "I saw it all happen, grandpa; after I walked her home, I noticed ambulances and news station trucks. I got worried, so I decided to go back to her house. I saw all the news people and ambulances surrounding her house, I even saw the body bag on the stretcher.. I couldn't find Helga, so I had no choice but to come back here.."

Grandpa Phil watched his grandson intently as he explained what he saw yesterday, and once he was done, he just nodded, not knowing at all how to reply to a story like that.

Arnold continued, choosing his words carefully for what he was about to say to his grandpa, "you know, when..when grandma died last year, Helga was the first person that cheered me up, even before Gerald. You remember, grandpa, she took us both to Slaucen's and got us ice cream. We even forgot why we were sad we were having such a good time with her.."

Phil frowned at the mention of Gertie, he had been trying to put her in the past now, and he had just started to act like his old self again even though she wasn't around anymore. But he smiled at the memory of that little girl arriving at the boarding house and hugging Arnold, then telling him she was gonna take him out for ice cream; her treat. Then she'd noticed Phil in the other room with a look of emptiness plastered on his face, and asked him to tag along with her and Arnold. She had enough money for the both of them that day.

Phil chuckled, "yeah, I'd forgotten what a sweet girl she became.."

"...What should I do, grandpa?" Arnold blurted out, "I just feel like I have to..no..I _need_ to do something to help her.."

Phil sighed, "well, Shortman, right now there's nothing you can do. Her family is probably busy with mourning and all that. The most you could do is probably either send her a nice letter or give her a call."

Arnold got up from his seat, he still hasn't touched his now cold breakfast, "okay, I'm going to call her right now. Thanks grandpa."

"You don't want your breakfast?" It was too late, Arnold was already in the other room dialing the Pataki household.

"Ahhh, good morning, grandpa," said Oskar, entering into the kitchen while yawning. He then noticed Arnold's eggs and toast on the table, "oh boy, free breakfast!"

Phil quickly swiped the breakfast away from Oskar before he could sit down, "not for you, you old bum! This is Arnold's, and don't call me grandpa!"

* * *

Arnold had the phone pressed up against his ear for quite some time now, and he was quickly thinking over what he was gonna say to the person who would pick up. After waiting a good 6 rings, he finally heard a voice.

 _"Hello?_ " It was a man, so the voice had to belong to Bob Pataki.

"Mr. Pata-" Arnold began, but was immediately cut off by Bob.

 _"Hey! What're you doing calling me on some regular old telephone, when you could be out buying a beeper from Big Bob's Beepers?! How will you know if someone is trying to communicate to you?!"_

Arnold had the most puzzled look on his face until Bob continued on.

 _"Hehe, just messin' with ya. Anyway, since you're hearing this pre recorded message, either the Patakis aren't home right now, or we just don't feel like talking to you. So if you feel as if what you have to say is important enough for us to hear, leave a message after the 'beep'. And don't forget to stop by Big Bob's Beepers for the device with the only efficient way to be contacted!"_

Arnold frowned in disappointment, _"A message, huh?"_ he thought, _"I guess that'll have to do for now.."_

 ***BEEP***

The time was now, and Arnold wasn't sure if he should be happy or upset that no one picked up. He almost knew exactly what to say and how to reply if someone picked up, but then again, he would have to wait for their reactions, good and bad. But with a message, he could just keep going without being scared of who was listening on the other end. Now was not the time to contemplate phone scenarios; he needed to talk right now, or else his message would be skipped over, thinking it was just some rando who forgot to hang up.

"H-hey, Helga..uh..it's Arnold. I...I heard about what happened to your mom, and..I'm so sorry this happened. No one deserves losing a family member when they still had a long life ahead of them; and you especially, Helga, don't deserve what you have to go through right now, and the loss you have to deal with so early on. And the reason I'm leaving you this message, is because I need you to know that...I'm here for you. Whenever you need someone, whether the company or just needing someone to talk to, you're always welcome at the boarding house. You helped me when I had lost a family member, and...I wanna return all the nice stuff you've done for me last year as much as I can. So..give me a call back whenever you get the chance. We could do something fun together when you're in the mood...bye!"

After Arnold hung up the phone, he put his hands in his pockets, feeling quite proud of how he worded his message. He only stuttered a few times, which wasn't bad considering he had to reword most of what he was actually gonna say, since he was expecting someone to pick up.

Before he could think further, there was a knock on the front door. Arnold rushed to the door and opened it to reveal Gerald, his best friend.

"Hey, Gerald," Arnold greeted.

"Hey, wanna go to the arcade? I got a raise on my allowance, so I have enough money to get about 8 tokens; four for each of us," said Gerald, with a big grin on his face.

Arnold looked over to the phone in the other room, then back to Gerald, that grin still present. Arnold nodded and replied, "sure," he needed to get his mind off of Helga's situation, and just try to enjoy his Saturday.

* * *

On their way to the arcade, Arnold noticed Gerald had that look on his face that meant he wanted to say something. Arnold never usually questioned if he wanted to say something, but today he was in a curious mood.

"Do you have something to say, Gerald?"

"Oh! Uh...yes," Gerald replied, but didn't continue his sentence.

"...Well? What is it?"

"Uh, did you hear about what happened last night? About Helga's mom?"

Arnold sighed, "yeah, I feel so bad. I just wish I could do something to help her out.."

"Yeah man, I hear you. I can't even imagine something like that happening to me," Gerald looked to the ground, "I also have another question.."

"Alright, ask away."

"..Were...you on the news last night?"

Arnold stopped in his tracks, which caused Gerald to stop too, "what?"

"Well when I saw the story about Helga's mom on the news, the reporter lady was pushed flat on the ground mid-sentence by someone running by, who looked almost _exactly_ like you.."

Arnold didn't respond until seconds later, and the only thing he responded with was, "oh.."

"So it _was_ you?! What were you doing there?"

"I..walked Helga home after school. After I left, I saw ambulances go by, so I thought that I would go back and s-"

"Hold up," Gerald interrupted Arnold with his hand, "you see a few ambulances go by, so you immediately go back to Helga's?"

"Well...yes. I know that sounds weird, but I had a bad feeling! And the thing was I was right! They _were_ going to her house!"

"But still, why did you knock over the news reporter?"

"I didn't know what was happening, Gerald. I was worried something happened to He-... I didn't think the news station was live at the momen-"

"I'm gonna have to ask you to hold up once again, Arnold," Gerald had an amused look on his face, "and rewind to that unfinished statement. You were worried something happened to _whoooo_?"

Arnold's face reddened, "oh come on, Gerald! You'd do the exact same thing for Phoebe!"

"You see, the thing about me and Phoebe, is that we're actually together," Gerald smoothly retorted, crossing his arms, "as for you and Helga? Well, I don't even think I'm sure anymore! Would you care to tell me, _Romeo_?"

Arnold furrowed his brows, his face still as red as Gerald's shirt, "Look, can we just go to the arcade now? I wanted to get away from this whole situation, and you're doing the complete opposite." Arnold darted off immediately, causing Gerald to quickly try and catch up.

"But I've gotta say man," said Gerald, reaching Arnold's side again, "that was one heck of a shove!" Arnold couldn't help but snicker at that.

* * *

 **(A/N: wow, a whole Arnold chapter. I didn't think I would have now two chapters where the main character doesn't speak one word! So I'm sorry for lying on my A/N last chapter, but I'll make sure that Helga WILL SPEAK WORDS in the next chapter! Also I'm so sorry for killing off Gertie! I don't know what had gotten into me, I was just writing the story up until one point where I was just like "should I kill off Gertie? That's so evil.. I'm doing it." I'm sorry Pookie fans! One thing I had in mind tho, was if I should make Phil have a flashback scene about Helga coming over and inviting them for ice cream, instead of like a short flashback summary which is what I did in this chapter, so if you guys do want that extended scene, let me know in the reviews! I'm always reading them and I love all the support I'm getting from you guys! I was just contemplating the scene because it's not really _that_ important to the main plot, but it's for you guys to decide so...yeah. OMG ALSO TJM IS OUT TOMORROW AAAAAAAAA! My life will literally be complete after I see this movie. I will die happy knowing this movie has been made and I have seen it with my eyeballs. fuCK IM SO EXCITED. I'm gonna go calm down now with a Snicker's (TMTMTMTMTM) bar! Stay tuned for the next chapter! :D)**


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N 11/24: Um...OKAY. GUYS. I JUST SAW THE JUNGLE MOVIE. FUCK. I literally have no words, I can only scream to show how much I enjoyed it. I've waited about almost 4 years for this movie, which you can probably tell I didn't grow up with the show. A weird thing about me is that I love old cartoons. Ever since I can remember, I was watching cartoons from every era starting with the 50s! But I haven't really heard of Hey Arnold until sometime around 2013, my mom got me DVDs of season 1 of both Hey Arnold and CatDog. I really don't know why she got them. Maybe they were on sale or something, but she told me they were my older sister's favorite shows, so that could be a reason too. For some reason I was more intrigued by Hey Arnold, even tho he was just some kid smiling on the DVD cover. Watching it at first, I didn't know how to feel about it. Seeing Helga going all gaga over Arnold for the first time made me think like "wUT iS tHIS? I DON'T WANT ROMANCE IN MY CARTOONS BAH." But by Arnold's Valentine, Arnold and Helga became my OTP. I remember thinking, "ooh Arnold's Valentine.. Helga better be gettin' her man today." Sorry for the whole origin story, but I hope it was entertaining. Let me just say a lil bit more about TJM and I'll be out of ur hair! The first time I heard about TJM, I was like "oh, that's getting made. Idk when, but it is. No one could pass up an idea that good for a series finale." And what do ya know! My denial for it not being made was right all along! I didn't really accomplish anything tho but WHATEVER I LIKE BEING RIGHT. The movie was exactly everything a fan could want in this movie, and it was really adorable! But I kinda wished there were more Helga and Arnold moments, because I love them together so much, but AAAA. I actually _SQUEALED_ when they...wAiT nO SpOiLeRs SoRrY. AHHH I WANNA WATCH IT AGAIN! I wanna replay that part when... aRG NO SPOILERS. But I'm pretty sure u all already have an idea.. *lenny face* Anyway! The awaited (I'm pretty sure by at least like 1 person lol.) chapter 6! Enjoy!)**

* * *

 **Hey Arnold! belongs to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon. I own none of these characters.**

* * *

It was Sunday evening, right after Miriam's funeral. Olga had gone home to Alaska right after, so Bob and Helga had another whole car ride home without one word spoken. Helga was a little weirded out at Bob, he hadn't spoken to her since Friday, but he was talking to Olga just fine everyday. What gives? She should just ask him what's up! But the thing was, Bob can be unpredictable when he's upset, and to have _this_ just happen.. It was out of the question for Helga to be the first to speak with him.

Arriving home, Helga just watched her father go straight to his bedroom and slam the door shut. She had never seen him act like this, but it was a dark time for the Patakis, so anything could be possible at this point. As she was about to head up to her room to change out of the ugly black dress she was wearing, she heard a beeping noise, which was the same noise that meant someone had left a message on the telephone. It was probably a doctor calling about bills, or a friend of Miriam's who couldn't make it to the funeral. Shrugging, she walked over to the phone, put it up to her ear, and played the new message.

"You have... **1** new messages," a robotic voice said. After another beep, the actual message was played.

 _"H-hey, Helga..uh..it's Arnold."_

"Arnold?!" Helga said in a surprised tone, as if she was actually talking on the phone with him.

 _"I...I heard about what happened to your mom, and..I'm so sorry this happened. No one deserves losing a family member when they still had a long life ahead of them. And you especially, Helga, don't deserve what you have to go through right now, and the loss you have to deal with so early on."_

Helga made a quiet gasp, she couldn't believe Arnold actually cared enough to call her so soon about her family situation. She pressed the phone closer to her ear as he continued.

 _"And the reason I'm leaving you this message, is because I need you to know that...I'm here for you. Whenever you need someone, whether the company or just needing someone to talk to, you're always welcome at the boarding house. You helped me when I had lost a family member, and...I wanna return all the nice stuff you've done for me last year as much as I can. So..give me a call back whenever you get the chance. We could do something fun together whenever you want to...bye!"_

After she heard the phone hang up and the beep that followed, she had realized she was crying. Out of sadness or out of joy? She actually didn't know; but assuming they were tears of joy, she ran up to her room, shut the door, and snatched out her locket.

"Oh, ARNOLD!" Helga swooned a little bit more loudly than she had intended, "you called me as soon as you could to tell me you care about my well being! The nicest boy in school, telling me, the girl who was mean to him for more than a decade, that I'm welcome at his home to talk anytime at all! Oh my love, I just wish I could hold you and kiss you right now without a care in the world! I love the way you're so affectionate and compassionate towards all! I love the way you let me know you're here for me, and you're listening to what I have to say, and..and you're..." She stopped dead in her sentence while slowly frowning, and looking at her locket with an entirely different gleam in her eyes, "...Pitying me."

Helga sniffled as she set the locket down on her nightstand face first. She then trudged over to her bed side and sat with her cheeks resting on her palms. _"Oh, who am I kidding?"_ She thought, _"this is just Arnold being Arnold. He would've done the same thing for any other sap who had lost someone significant to them."_ Helga sighed as she stood up and walked to her closet, finally deciding to take off the depressing outfit, and began putting on some pajamas for the night. _"To prove to everyone that I don't need their pity, I'm coming to school tomorrow. I'll show everyone I don't need even one day off of school, and everyone will find out Helga G. Pataki can still be the strongest girl they'll ever know!"_ And with that final thought, Helga got into her bed and went to sleep...

* * *

Helga decided to wait at the bus stop this morning, she didn't want to see Arnold just yet. She didn't have a clue on what to say to him once they would meet, and she wasn't looking forward to that. Hopefully, he would be doing the talking for her.

Of course, when she had woken up earlier, Bob had already left for work. She was actually quite surprised he didn't take the day off either, maybe he had the same reason as her to go to work; but she didn't really know, or for a matter of fact, care.

Helga was so lost in her own thoughts, the school bus in front of her had startled her like it appeared in her face out of thin air. Gaining composure, she gripped her backpack straps, and headed inside the bus. Once she was in the bus, she looked at all the seats filled with kids. But the thing that made her feel really uneasy, was that all the 8th graders became silent, and were staring right at her like she was some sort of freak show. Even some 7th graders joined in on the silence too. Helga looked at her shoes as she sped walked to the back of the bus, next to her best friend, Phoebe.

Phoebe was one of the people staring at Helga in shock the whole time, and even watched her sit down with the same expression.

"Helga! You're coming to school today?" Yeah, Phoebe knew the question was stupid, but she still didn't think Helga would come after the big and tragic event that happened last Friday.

"Doi, Pheebs," Helga responded with a little bit of an irritated tone, "why would I get on the bus if I wasn't going to school?"

"Well, I just figured you would need some time alone to mourn with your family," Phoebe replied with a voice full of concern.

"I had the whole weekend to do that," Helga shrugged and looked at her shoes again, "and besides, I think going to school is better for me than staying in that empty house. School will help me keep my mind off of what happened, and I feel like staying home will only remind me of...Miriam."

Phoebe frowned, "Oh Helga, I'm so sorry this happened," she said as she hugged her best friend.

Helga squirmed out of the hug, "and that's another reason why I'm coming to school today."

"P-pardon?" Phoebe asked, with a perplexed expression.

"Everyone's pitying me, Phoebe. You know I really hate when people do that, especially to me," Helga said as she crossed her arms, and slightly slid down her seat.

"Of course everyone is pitying you, what happened on Friday was terrible, and it was all over the news," Phoebe said with a matter-of-fact tone. Her expression, however, instantly softened, "but Helga, when people pity others, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Some people could be trying to help-"

"You're not understanding!" Helga interrupted with slight force, "I don't need anyone's help, I can take care of my own situations myself. I'm still the tough as nails _Helga G. Pataki,_ and no one should be thinking of me as vulnerable. Ever." Helga sighed, "today is just going to be a normal Monday, _nothing_ has changed.."

Phoebe looked out the window of the bus as she replied, "alright, Helga. Whatever you think is best for you.." She knew that this week for Helga was going to be _anything_ but normal...

* * *

When Arnold came into his second class of the day, he did _not_ expect to see Helga sitting right at her desk. If his desk wasn't across the room from hers, it would be so much easier to get some answers.

Although, now that he thought about it, she would just be in an empty house the whole time. Which is the same house her mom was always in all of Helga's life. So, it would actually make sense that she'd rather come to school than take the day off..

"Arnold?" Arnold's eyes darted right towards the teacher's desk. Except that wasn't the teacher sitting at that desk, it was a substitute. How did he only realize just now there was a substitute teacher, let alone just find out she was taking role?

"Here," Arnold said quickly and bluntly, before taking a glance at Helga, who had her cheek resting on her palm, while she was writing in her pink journal. He'd seen that journal many times with her just writing in it, and he'd always wondered, what kind of stuff did she write in that thing? Or did she draw in it? Either way, he'd always been curious, but he knew better than to get all up in her private items.

He suddenly noticed that all the kids were getting up from their desks and walking over to their friends. The substitute obviously doesn't care enough to do her job very well. She just does attendance and _boom_ , she's taking a nap.

Arnold looked at all his classmates, and found out something rather peculiar. Some kids were standing next to the friend they wanted to talk to, and most have moved seats so they all could sit and chat. The only empty desks he saw, were the ones surrounding Helga's, who was still sitting in it while still writing in that journal. Were all his classmates...avoiding her? With extreme internal determination, Arnold got up from his own desk, and started to walk towards Helga's.

He had gotten to her desk, but she didn't even notice he was standing right next to her. It was like she was so into what she was writing, she's blocked out the world around her. Arnold found it quite impressive actually, he had never seen her so passionate about something. As he dared to look at her journal, he could kind of see what she was writing; it was in the format of a poem. Never in a million years would he think _Helga_ of all people to enjoy poetry, let alone write it herself. Feeling as if he was starting to invade her privacy, he finally decided to speak up.

"Hi Helg-"

Helga jolted up straight in her seat, causing her pen to make a big line across the page, then she slammed her journal shut with both of her hands.

Arnold was also startled himself from that sudden reaction, but he instantly felt terrible for making her ruin the neatly handwritten piece, "I-I'm sorry," he apologized as Helga looked up at him, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Helga looked back at her journal, then back at him, "how...long have you been standing there?" She asked, her tone almost unrecognizable.

"I just got here," Arnold lied. He always hated lying to people, but for right now, it was better she didn't know.

Helga didn't reply as she turned away from him, she didn't know what to say that wouldn't make him seem concerned. However, not replying still made him concerned. She could feel his stare burning through her, but she still avoided looking at him.

She heard him sigh, and say, "how are you, Helga?"

"...Just peachy," Helga responded in a somewhat monotone sounding voice, "how are _you_ , Arnoldo?"

"Uh, fine," Arnold quickly answered before putting his hands behind his back, not knowing what to do with them as he continued, "so, did you...happen to get a phone message on Saturday?"

Helga was instantly reminded of the wonderful (and also not so wonderful) phone message he had sent her, "yeah, I listened to it yesterday, after the funeral. It was...really sweet," She started to play with her hair, which was something she never did, but she just didn't know how to look at him in the eye while saying that.

Arnold smiled as he got on his knees to get to her level, putting one hand on the desk to support himself. That made Helga have no choice but to look at him, "I meant every word I said..-"

"You really didn't have to do that though."

He stared at her for mere seconds, until responding with, "what do you mean?"

"I _mean_ that I appreciate you _feeling bad for me_ and.. _trying to help me_ , but I don't need anyone's help," Helga stood up from her seat, causing Arnold to move his hand to his lap, and look up at her as she continued, "when it comes to stuff like this, I have to handle it by myself."

"You can't be serious, Helga," Arnold said as he stood up as well. They were both the same height now, which made Helga a lot less intimidating now than she was years ago when she towered over him. "When it comes to stuff like this, you _shouldn't_ be handling it by yourself. You _should_ have someone by your side to help you get through it.. Don't you remember what you did for me when I had lost someone close?" Helga began looking at her shoes, which caused Arnold to put a hand on her shoulder to get her full attention, "you made me feel so much better, Helga. If it weren't for you, I'd still probably be sad to this day."

Helga shrugged off his hand, and was still looking at her shoes when she replied with, "yeah, well, when the roles are switched, hair-boy, things are different. I didn't lose a sweet, loving grandma who was a really cool person to be around," her tone became venomous, "I lost a deadbeat alcoholic mom, who caused all of this on herself."

She knew that was a really mean thing to say, but it was still true to her. The only thing Miriam's ever done for Helga was give her life. Even though that was something she should be eternally grateful for; it definitely wasn't enough to be grateful for. Real moms pay attention to all their kids, love them, and also _feed_ them. Since when has Miriam done _any_ of those things for Helga?

It could almost seem like nothing has changed to Helga, just one less person sleeping on the kitchen table. She was angry...angry at her mom for not being the mom she was to Olga. For not being the mom who even remembered her name along with Bob.. But, if she was so angry, why were there tears forming in her eyes?

"I'm not sad," Helga said bluntly as she looked at Arnold, regretting it instantly when she noticed how blurry her vision was. She couldn't tell what his expression was, but she was hoping he didn't look her in the eyes and see that she was an almost internal wreck. "Look," she took a breath in, trying as hard as possible to keep her voice steady, "I don't wanna talk about it. I just wanna forget everything that happened last week, and keep my life as normal as it was before this stupid incident," her tears were sucked right back into her eyes, and she could now see clearly.

Arnold was frowning at her, he probably had been frowning ever since their conversation took this turn, "Okay," he said in a low and heartfelt tone, "but I'm not taking back what I said on the phone, I meant it. So, if you ever change your mind and need to talk to someone, I'm still here."

Before either of them could say anything else, the school bell rung, signaling all students to go to their next class. Arnold went to go grab his things, and he came right back to Helga, who was almost done packing up. They didn't have their next period together, but he still wanted to assure her that he wants to help her, whether she wants it or not.

"Want me to walk you to your next class?" Arnold asked her as she slid her backpack over her shoulders.

Helga sighed and rolled her eyes, "I know you won't get off my back otherwise.."

"I never do," he joked, which caused her to chuckle for the first time in what felt like forever. He grinned, humoring Helga always won her over, and he was happy he finally made her smile today.

"Glad to know we're on the same page now, football-head," she replied with a smirk, as they headed to Helga's third class of the day...

* * *

 **(A/N 11/26: Yaaaayyy! I finally finished this chapter! I wanted to make it longer, but its still only 3000 words -_- and it took 2 DAYS to write it. I have no idea why I'm so slow ROAR.**

 **Also if any of you were wondering, I became so obsessed with Hey Arnold I kept replaying that DVD my mom got and I never even opened the CatDog DVD. She sold both the DVDs with CatDog in pristine condition XD. I don't have a DVD player in my house anymore so that's why she sold most of my DVDs, but if I still had one I would be like "nOPE HEY ARNOLD SEASON 1 IS MINE GIMME GIMME." Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I wurked _vairy_ herd un iit :3 See u all in the next chapter, stay tuned!)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey Arnold! belongs to Craig Bartlett and Nickelodeon. I own none of these characters.**

* * *

The past few school days seemed to go by pretty quickly for Helga. She could say that they were normal days, but that would make her a liar. Around the halls and in some of her classes, kids were avoiding her. Usually those kids don't know how to handle real issues such as this, and just try to stay as far away as possible; but some of the kids thought that people who have lost someone close, would need some space away from others for several days.

However, there were also a lot of kids who had the guts to tell her they're sorry for her loss, and even gave her one of their own sob stories to make her feel better. Depending on the person, she either had dismissed them coldly, or just went with a "thanks for sharing, but I don't wanna talk about this." Most of the people that had approached her she didn't even know, so she didn't feel as bad dismissing them.

Even though whenever classmates and kids around her were avoiding her to the point where she felt like she was some sort of freak, she felt she'd rather be ignored than be bombarded with people who only said the same things to her thinking they were making her cheer up. She felt selfish thinking this, as they were just trying to help, but what part did they not understand that she doesn't need or want help from _anyone_?

One thing she was glad about, was that she and Arnold hadn't discussed her mom's passing since Monday morning. She was glad he understood that she didn't want to talk about it just yet or even ever again. Though, she could tell he wanted her to open up to him more about it, since they're closer than they've ever been before now, but Helga wasn't sure if she was ready yet. If she had opened up to him more, he might laugh in her face and reject her, she would be heartbroken, he would tell all his friends she cried like a baby in front of him, then the whole school would know and then...

 _"Oh, what am I thinking?"_ Helga thought to herself, _"Arnold wouldn't do that, that's so not like him.. Or is it?"_ She shook her head, _"No, he's nice to all, he would never. Unless he would... I don't know what he's thinking in that football shaped head!"_

Helga huffed as she walked through the front door of her home. She dropped her backpack on the floor as she shut and locked the door behind her. Hearing noises, she quieted herself down. It didn't take her long to realize what she was hearing was talking from Bob's room. She could tell it was Bob talking, but she didn't hear any other voices, so he was probably on the phone. Feeling curious, Helga walked up to the closed door that led to her dad's bedroom, and pressed her ear against it.

"No Ronnie, I'm being serious," she heard Bob's muffled voice, "Everyone has been refunding their beepers, and I haven't even had any new customers since my wife died and it was instantly all over the news! Who even let all those morons film outside my private home to talk about my private family loss!?" Helga was intrigued on the conversation her dad was having, and anxiously waited for the person on the other line to stop talking so she could hear his reply. "Well thanks to them, my business isn't very big and great now, is it? Everyone thinks I'm some sort of domestic abuser, and it's all their fault! I swear, if I knew she was drinking so much to get to the point of killing herself, I definitely would've done something to prevent it! People are thinking I wanted this and I'm sick and tired of it!"

Helga thought that would be a very logical reason for Bob to be angry...if he was telling the truth. She remembered almost every day of her life when she was in her room, she would always hear the loudest shouting from Bob, and she knew for a long time that it was all at Miriam. Although he isn't the domestic abuser most think he is, which is physical abuse, verbal abuse can still be just as bad, it could leave emotional scars instead of physical ones.

Helga heard him sigh, "okay, if I can't get you the rent money by Monday, I'll close up the store for good. Deal? Okay. Bye."

This was definitely news to Helga; closing down Big Bob's Beepers? He put his heart and soul into his company, and he probably loves it more than he likes Helga. In fact, he probably loved it so much that it was a part of him, and he was about to have that taken away too, along with his wife. She was really surprised that he sounded so nonchalant over the phone talking about it. She figured he would've at least-

 ** _*BAM!*_**

Bob slammed open the door of his bedroom, the edge of the door hitting an unknowing Helga right in the face. The impact of the door to her face was so hard, she was immediately knocked out. Bob had stopped what he was doing for a moment and looked down at her on the floor.

"Watch where you're goin', girl," was all he said as he stomped past her unconscious body and into another room. He was looking for something to punch..

* * *

Helga woke up a few hours later, and she felt awful. Her head was pounding, her face hurt, and she didn't know why.

 _"Criminy,"_ she thought, _"I feel like I got hit by a truck.."_ She slowly sat up, taking in her surroundings as she looked around. Looking up at her dad's now closed door, she could immediately remember what happened. So much for Bob being nonchalant about anything.. As she stood up, she then realized how much her face hurt, mostly her right eye. She bit back a yelp from the throbbing pain she was experiencing from the specific area, and quickly headed upstairs to her bathroom. _"This better not be what I think it is,_ " she thought, feeling a large amount of anger rush through her body. Reaching the bathroom mirror, she didn't have to take a long look at her reflection to see her swollen and puffy black eye.

Helga gasped at the person she saw through that mirror. She had school tomorrow! She can _not_ go to school with a gigantic shiner on her face! Everyone would give her even more pity for this, they would make stories too, loads and loads of hoaxes and rumors! They would call her the new Eugene! One bad situation after another, while even Eugene himself would call her a jinx. Or worse, they would call her weak.

She fought back a sob, _"_ I'm strong _,"_ she told her reflection in self motivation, "I'm Helga G. Pataki, the strongest girl you know...the _strongest_ girl you know.." She sniffled as she thought of all her friends staring at her again, but for a whole other unfortunate reason. Like she wasn't already humiliated enough these past few days, then she remembered Arnold.. As much as she liked attention from him, this is _not_ the kind of attention she wants. She's probably stressing him out, she's probably such a burden on him. Oh, if only there was a way she could...

The lump in her throat quickly started to fade as she saw her hair brush resting right next to the sink. Her frown slowly formed into a smile as the bright idea came to her head. With no hesitation, she grabbed her hair brush and started brushing up a new do.

Helga was satisfied with herself when she was done. She couldn't notice anything wrong with her right eye now, since it was all covered with her hair. The hairstyle reminded her of when she pretended to be Arnold's pen pal from Paris, Cecile. That was the first and only time she had ever worn her hair like that. She would have worn it like this again, but she was afraid that Arnold would notice similarities right away and call her out. But, that was years ago, he'd probably forgotten all about Helga-Cecile by now. All her worrying had been for nothing, look at how easily she fixed this problem! Easy-peasy! Although, she wished the problem never happened in the first place..

She felt the anger rise in her once again, "stupid Bob," she muttered to herself. Did he even say he was sorry? Did he even know he gave her a black eye? Did he even acknowledge her presence after hitting her face with the door? Who knows, all that _is_ known is that what's done is done. Helga has a big swollen blemish on her face now, and she has to do her ultimate best to keep it hidden from anyone and anything.

* * *

It was Thursday morning, Helga woke up and did her morning routine, and before she knew it, she was heading downstairs for her school bag. She put a hand on the strap of the bag, then paused when she noticed Bob in the kitchen. She was instantly angry; because of him, she now has to go to school pretty much half blind. She could barely see through the still swollen and puffy eye, she had another thing to hide from everyone, and it's all because of him. The anger finally got the best of her, and she marched over to Bob, who was sitting at the kitchen table eating burnt toast, and crossed her arms at him.

"Bob," Helga stated. He didn't even acknowledge her. "Bob," she said in a more stern voice, gaining more bottled anger.

"Busy," was all he replied with, not looking at her and his mouth full of that burnt toast.

Helga quietly growled, "do you realize you hit me in the face with a door yesterday?" she asked, trying to keep calm.

"Yeah, I told you to watch where you were going. You know better than to stand so close around rooms you're not allowed in," he still wasn't looking at her, but he had a look of irritation all over his facial features.

"You think this is _my_ fault? You swung that door open like a maniac!"

"Watch your mouth girl, don't piss me off," he said in an angry tone, finally looking at her and standing up from his chair.

"Look at what _you_ did and tell me it's my fault that this happened!" Helga pulled up her bangs over her right eye and looked at Bob right in the face. "I know you're probably going through a hard time right now, but so am I! Miriam was my mom, not just your wife, so don't think I'm over here skipping in a field of daises!"

Bob glared down at her, "I don't want to hear that name in this house ever again. Go to school."

"I want an apology first," Helga's fear of talking to him was quickly vanishing, "right now."

His fists trembled, "You get lost or else I'll give you another one of those."

"No! I-" Before Helga knew it, she was shoved all the way out the front door.

Bob carelessly threw her backpack at her, "don't even bother coming back here unless you plan on making dinner," he said in a tone she'd never heard before, and shut the door with a loud slam.

Helga grunted in anger and frustration, "I hate you!" She shouted at the closed door. Even though she knew he didn't hear that, it still made her feel a little bit better just saying it out loud.

"Who do you hate, Helga?" She heard a voice behind her. A boy's voice. Arnold... Arnold!

Helga quickly fixed her bangs, making sure her eye felt completely covered through her hair. She turned around and smiled a little too widely at him, "oh, hi Arnold," she said with that same smile, "who do I hate? What a weird topic to start up a conversation with..heh..."

Arnold looked both confused and concerned at her, "well, I just heard you scream 'I hate you' at your door..."

"Yes..I did say that," She started twiddling her thumbs, "I was saying that to, uhh...I..I was.. uhh, acting! Yes, I was acting! I-I'm auditioning for the school play, and I was just practicing my monologue. Th-that's all," everyone in the world could be able to tell that was a big fat lie. She just hoped that Arnold would buy it and move on.

"Oh," he weakly smiled at her, "well in that case, that was really good acting. You'll do amazing in your audition."

"Thanks, let's just hope all my practice pays off!" Helga sheepishly smiled.

"I'll be sure to keep my fingers crossed for you!" He sheepishly smiled back. Arnold did not buy her story for a second, but he didn't want to be too nosy about who she was actually saying that to and why. He guessed she would tell him when she was good and ready, but for now Helga isn't showing any signs of opening up to him any time soon. "Anyways, I was just dropping by to see if you wanted to walk to school with me today."

"Okay football head, vamonos," Helga replied, turning around on her heel and heading towards the direction of school.

* * *

 **(A/N: I finally got the chance to make another chapter yayyy. Dumb school I'm too cool for school. Anyways in this chapter shit just got real. Poor Helga! I'm so sorry for doing this to you! Forgive me fictional cartoon character! As u all can see this is where the downhill part of the fanfic starts. One shit thing after another, who knows what will happen next? Leave ur reviews, fav and follow, I highly appreciate all the support I get and I'm always reading reviews for inspirational and ego boosts XD** **Stay tuned for the next chapter! )**


End file.
